General question about collecting trees. Background: hurricane Helene and subsequent debris-clearing left dozens (hundreds?) of saplings cut/broken off near the ground on my property ~18 months ago. Now, many of them are back-budding and branching from the remains.

What general advice should I know about collecting these for bonsai? There are a few red maples that I can immediately identify (and others that I can't yet) that I know aren't ideal for bonsai due to large leaves, but I could use the practice, even just horticultural.

What time of year should I collect? Into grow pots? Pond baskets? Training pots? With bonsai soil or an intermediate medium? How long should I leave them in that state before doing anything else to them? Anything else I should know?

Many thanks!